The Dickinson press., 1887-08-27
WOMAN AND HOME.
PRENTICE MuLFoRD breaches A
SHORT SERMON TO MOTHERS.

The Child's Mirror-Housekeeping Dur.
ing the Revolution-A False Shame.
Children's Friends and Companions.
A Southern Household-A "Screamer."
You see, madame, you've sown and now
you are rcaping. There's been on your part
too much devotion to the children and too
little to yourself. You are oil individual as
we'll as any one of your children. You that
individually call for improvement on every
side. You've been saying all these years, II
don't care much what becomes of me, so that
the children have a good send Off in the world"
That's all wrong. You've worked hard all
these years, nursing these boys and girls,
feeding them, clothing them, worrying over
them. You've been for them mother, nursery
governess, housekeeper and upper servant,
and that's about all. You've kept yourself
hived in your house, and much out of the
world and out of society. You haven't kept
up with the world. You neglect your dress
and look like a dowdy. When You do dress,
you put on too much. When you don't dress,
you put on too little.
Your education in certain respects has not
gone on with that of the children. Education
in this world or any other never stops. The
education you get from varied association
with many people is as good if not better than
that you get out of books. People are books.
You have toiled yourself at home into n
servant. Your children call you "mother,"
but regard you as their servant You've
educated them so to do and they can't help it.
They associate you only with the care of tho
house, the care of the table, the washing and
mending, and little else. You can't think or
talk Of much else.
Your children see the difference between
you and other ladies' When you go i'll COM
pany you're always putting your foot in it
somewhere or turning up some corner of the
family curtain that had better have been left
turned down. For this reason your children
are both ashamed and afraid of you They
can't helpit.
You say your children should have more
gratitude. You can't expect gratitude from
children till they have children of their own
By that time it's too late for their gratitude
to be of much service to you.
Children take oil their parents give them
money, clothes, food and shelter-as Il matter
of course. They think these things come rs
matter of course until they're obliged to go
to work and earn them
You've toiled yourself into prematurely'
old woman. You complain that your girls
"run over you" They wouldn't run over you
if you'd cultivated all your talents
Dignity is talent, and you haven't culti
vated that. Command of temper is IL talent,
and you haven't cultivated that. Grace of
bearing, address, tact well chosen language
all these are talents, and you've given them
all the 90 by.
You've committed that pernicious sin of
saving nothing for yourself and everything
for your children. If saying that so that the
cbldren's light shone you'd be willing to bo
q snuffy old candle and now that you are a;
snufTy old candle, and your children treat
you as one, you don't like it,
"Ought we not to love our children better
than ourselves7' you ask. No. "Love thy
neighbor as thyself," says Scripture Your
children are your neighbors. Mark the pas
sage-"as thyself," not better than thyself.
There's certain amount of love due from
every one to themselves. If you don't love
yourself you'll neglect yourself in some way.
Love doesn't mean abuse of self 1t means
proper care of ones self. If you don't love
your body you won't keep it properly
cleansed or clothed; if you love your
stomach you won't put anything in it to hurt
it; you won't put in it bigger load than it
can carry. If you love your mind you'll sec
that it's kept clear and polished and bright
and ready to receive the best ideas that come
floating to it in tho air.
When you love anything so much that
you're willing to give yourself all away for
Its sake, you're helping to make ruin of
self and making yourself less and less able to
attract love, regard, esteem and respect from
others.
It's time we saw all the way round some
texts in Scripture, and not half way round.
Your minister out to have told you better
Prentice milford III San Francisco Chronicle,